The Lagos State Government has pulled down no fewer than 13 buildings at I.K. Peter Street, Ajao Estate, cited in close proximity to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
This was made known by the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Owodunni Oki.
Speaking on Friday, the General Manager gave reasons for the demolition.
He disclosed that the buildings lacked required approvals and were cited around airport restricted areas while some are cited on aviation fuel pipelines.
Oki, who feared the havoc that a fire outbreak from the pipeline could cause to lives and properties, said the builders also lacked required documents as approvals for construction in that area.
According to the GM, the buildings were illegally constructed out of clear disregard to the requirements of extant laws.
Mentioning that the buildings had no planning permit and were built around the pipelines, he remarked: “Nobody in his right thinking mind will go and buy a plot on a pipeline and build on the pipeline.”
He mentioned that due consultations and communications have been made with enough time of about two years given to the occupants of the affected buildings to evacuate the structures.
Oki lamented building collapse in Lagos had been a subject of “attitudinal problem”, mentioning that the buildings were a national risk to the airport being “extremely close”.
He said no life of a Nigerian is worth being lost to the dangers that the citing of the buildings pose.
The GM, who called on Lagosians to report cases of illegal structures to the government, said “turning a blind face to such constructions” would bear untoward consequences with far reaching losses.
On its part, the authority of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said the agency is happy the Lagos State Government is stepping into the issue after several warnings in attempt to stop the constructions of buildings were not yielded to by those it called “encroachers” who “stole” from the land of the airport.
Speaking on Friday, the General Manager, Business Development, FAAN, Ngwu Hycienth, applauded the partnership with LASBCA to bring normalcy and decency to the Airport environment.
Hycienth lamented that the authorities of the airport began to notice encroachment on its land in 2015, defying the standard rule that no building must be cited close to the perimeter fence.
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